


No Place Like Home

by HayamaRei



Series: The Achievement City Adventures [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Gen, Humor, Lad-centric, M/M, Mentions of Raywood, Michael is excited about stuff, Ray is the prince of the Nether, Ray wants a nap, and Gavin is mostly clueless, magma cubes are dangerous, minecraft au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 14:01:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12459264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HayamaRei/pseuds/HayamaRei
Summary: Ray is the prince of the Nether but escaped into the upper world in search for his own happiness and found it in Achievement City. His provenience is his biggest secret, but no secret remains hidden for too long.---Or the one where Michael builds a portal to the Nether and drags Ray along on an adventure.





	No Place Like Home

**Author's Note:**

> Here is something that's been sitting in my folders for a while now. 
> 
> This was supposed to be just a part of a longer series which focused on each of them and their story but it never got finished. I was toying with the concept of the Minecraft universe and took some liberties with the facts as you'll notice, but it was so fun to write. I am aware that there are no humanoids in the Nether but in this AU there are and Ray happens to be the Royal Family's son. I'll add more explanations about what everyone is in the notes at the bottom in case someone is confused or intrigued. 
> 
> And who knows, I may actually get to do more of these in the future.

“Come on Ray, it will be fun! I’ve wanted to go there since forever, I don’t wanna be stuck with just Gavin!” Michael was practically begging by that point. He’d finally managed to make a working portal to the Nether, after Ray managed to sabotage his work three times previously, and now wanted to venture out. Ray couldn’t be less excited about it.

“Why don’t you take Jeremy with you? He’ll like it.” He tried getting out of it. There was a perfectly working already portal hidden on the other side of their mountain but he didn’t want to mention that. Michael would probably beat him up.

Michael sighed. “You know he’s still recovering from his last episode. It was rough, he can come the second time.”

Ray didn’t like to think there would be a second time. “Dude the Nether is lame. Pools of lava and endless suffering. Big deal, you get that if you leave Gavin unsupervised for an hour.”

Michael couldn’t seem to disagree more. He was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. “But I don’t get to kill Gavin at the end of it. I wanna come back with a trophy, you know? Do you think a wither skeleton skull will look good on my wall?”

“I don’t think they look good on anything.” Ray said grimly. There was no way to talk Michael out of it, and by the looks of it Michael wasn’t going to let him go until he agreed to come. “Fine, whatever. I’ll come.”

Michael grinned and with a rough pat on Ray’s shoulder he went away, undoubtedly to tell Gavin the news.

\---

“Do you think it will hurt?” Gavin eyed the purple shine of the portal in front of them.

“No.” Ray said instinctively.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re travelling between dimensions, not getting ripped apart. Come on, let’s get this over with.” Ray grumbled and stepped into the portal. There was the familiar feeling of his body twisting around and then he stepped out the other side. Just where he’d left the Nether for the first time.

The faint smell of sulfur lingered in the air as ever, it was hot and humid and part of Ray felt nostalgic. Just a second later Michael and Gavin walked out of the portal, too, Michael already holding up his sword. He gave a look around then his eyes landed on Ray and he frowned.

“Ray. Where is your weapon?”

“Oh. Uh, I guess I forgot to bring it.” Ray shrugged giving an awkward smile.

“You forgot to bring a sword. To the Nether.” Michael repeated, sounding almost amazed. The same voice he used whenever Gavin did something stupid. Ray just shrugged again. Michael let out another long sigh and shook his head. “Whatever. Just stay close to me or something.”

Ray did as he was told. There wasn’t much to see in the Nether. Brown and red dominated the place and the horizon was bedrock. Rey didn’t understand what was so interesting about it. It was one of the biggest reasons he’d left in the first place. Michael had another idea, apparently.

“This place is great!” He exclaimed after five minutes of just walking aimlessly. Gavin was a mix between curious and frightened beside them. Ray kept quiet. 

After few more minutes Michael suddenly stopped, spreading his arms out to make the others stop too. “Holy shit, look at that.” He crouched behind a rock and pointed ahead where a Ghast was floating above a lava pool. “Gavin, give me your bow.” He demanded and Ray suddenly jumped.

“Woah, woah, woah, you’re not thinking about shooting it, are you?” He said a little defensively.

“Of course I am.”

Ray might have been sick of his world and left but it didn’t mean he didn’t care about it. People acting like that was exactly the reason why the realm had a bad reputation with visitors. “Dude, it’s doing nothing wrong to you, let it be. If you attack it it will only attack back, leave it alone.”

Michael frowned. “It will attack if it sees us anyway.”

Except it wouldn’t, because Ray was there and it wouldn’t risk hurting him. “So we’ll make sure it doesn’t see us.” He retorted. “Come on, Ghasts are hard to kill anyway.”

Michael hesitated for a few moments then sighed and nodded. “Alright.”

Ray just managed to relax when he heard Gavin’s voice from a few feet away. “Aren’t you a cute lil thing?” He was saying while crouching in front of something. “Where’s your family, huh?” He moved a little to reveal a small Magma Cube standing in front of him.

“Gavin! Get away from the Magma Cube!” He shouted quickly. God, he should’ve never let them get there in the first place.

“What? Why?” Gavin was confused.

“Because it can melt your hand off, moron,” Ray harshly pulled him away before the damage could be done. Cute as they were Magma Cubes were dangerous even when small.

Gavin gave one last longing look towards the small creature and let himself get dragged away. Ray failed to notice the suspicious looks Michael was giving him.

They continued walking, thankfully avoiding any further encounters with the creatures of the Nether for the most part. Ray tried to steer them away in the opposite direction of the fortress but since technically Michael was the leader of their expedition it had little success. All too soon the looming walls of Ray’s home came to view. His heart sank, there was no getting out of this.

Michael instantly headed that way. “Are you sure you want to go there, Michael? It could be dangerous.” Gavin voiced his worries.

He wasn’t usually the type to back out of a chance to explore new things and places, but Ray could see that being in an enemy territory with no backup and one of them unarmed was making him feel uneasy.

“We came all this way, Gavin. We are going there.” Michael on the other hand was thrilled to be there. He wanted the danger, Ray could see that, and he kind of felt bad that it was probably the last thing they’d meet.

With no further protests, Ray knew it was futile to even try, they headed towards the fortress.

“We can try to make a hole in one of the walls and get in from there.” Michael said as they neared it, whispering despite there not being reason for it.

“Or we can use the entrance over there.” Ray pointed, already accepted his fate. There was no point in making it harder than it already was.

Michael looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “Are you crazy? There are probably guards there!”

“Trust me, it’s fine.” Ray insisted and started walking towards the entrance without waiting for the others.

“Ray! Ray, come on, Ray! For fuck’s sake!” He heard the others’ footsteps following after him a moment later.

There were indeed guards at the entrance. Two Pigmen stood at the sides of the entrance and bowed their heads slightly when Ray approached. Michael stared in confusion and Gavin simply looked baffled by everything.

They had barely stepped past the guards and into the courtyard when a voice echoed off the stone walls, making Ray stop and close his eyes in preparation for what was about to come.

“Ray Narvaez Junior! It was about time you showed up!” The voice came from a balcony above them and Michael instantly had his sword drawn out again.

Rey let out a long suffering sigh. “Hey mom!” He called back, loud enough for his voice to echo as well.

Michael and Gavin both looked at him with their jaws hanging. “Mom?” Both of them asked at the same time.

Ray had no chance to answer because a moment later his mother rushed out of a door opposite them. She was a tall, slender woman with black hair pulled into an intricate bun on top of her head. The dress she wore was long, the reddish-brown colour of the very bricks that made the fortress, and hugged her frame well. Her eyes were brown, but bright and almost glowing like the lava rivers that flowed through her realm.

“Two years, no letter, no visit, no word from you and-” She stopped herself when she noticed the other two. “And who are these gentlemen?”

“Uh, yes, mom these are my friends, Michael and Gavin.” He said awkwardly, shifting on his feet. This was a situation he never wanted to be in, yet there he was.

Her eyes softened and Michael tried to subtly hide the sword behind his back. “You brought your friends over for a visit, how lovely!” She practically cooed and Ray sort of wished she was back to yelling.

“Yes but we were just leaving, we, uh, have to be back before it gets dark.”

“Nonsense, you just came! Come on lunch is ready to be served.” His mother urged them all forward. Michael looked a mix between confused and intrigued and Gavin was suddenly curious.

They were lead to the dining hall and they sat on the long table, Ray’s mom leaving them for a minute to request servings for more people.

“Dude, what the fuck?!” Michael leaned over the table once they were alone.

Ray shrugged. “I’m from the Nether royal family. I was born and raised here.”

“And you didn’t think any of this was important enough to mention?” Michael insisted at the same time Gavin said “The Nether has a royal family?” 

“Yes it does.” Ray told Gavin and turned to Michael again. “And it’s not that. I just… I didn’t think it mattered? My powers only do shit in here and it’s not like I pop in every Saturday to catch up.” He defended himself. He’d tried to leave the Nether behind, he was afraid that if people in the upper world knew about him they’d try to use him to do damage.

“This is still something you tell your friends! Why didn’t you say anything when I asked you to come?”

“I don’t know, okay? I just didn’t. No point arguing about it now.” Ray hissed, feeling tired of this already. It was good to see his mother and his world again but he also wasn’t prepared. He wanted to go home and take a nap maybe. Nap sounded perfect. 

“Your mother seems like a nice woman,” Gavin said in an obvious attempt to change the topic and thankfully Michael nodded in agreement.

“That’s true, where did you go wrong?”

Ray flipped him off and a second later his mother returned, taking her seat at the head of the table.

“Lunch will be here any minute. So boys, tell me how is Ray doing in the upper world?” She smiled widely and Ray groaned when he saw Gavin grin. This would be a torture.

\---

Few hours later, after having to live through Gavin and Michael’s versions of Ray’s most embarrassing moments in the upper world, and then his mother’s versions of every embarrassing moment he’s had as a child, they were ready to leave. Ray made a promise to come back again soon, which Gavin seconded with ‘And maybe you should bring Ryan next time’ which earned him a kick in the shin. His mother gave him a curious look but Ray shrugged it off. It wasn’t anywhere near the time to have that conversation with her. They were escorted out and sent away with best wishes. 

“So, the Nether isn’t evil.” Gavin said when they were a good distance away from the fortress.

“Nope. We just defend our world from pricks that come in and think they own the place.” Ray agreed.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Michael chuckled and bent down to pick up some wart. “I wanted a trophy, I guess this shall do.”

“Hey, guys? Would you, maybe, not mention this to the others just yet? I want to tell them myself, but I’ll wait for the right moment.” Ray felt hesitant asking that. Maybe they did feel betrayed that he hadn’t told them earlier, maybe they’d want to get back at him for it.

“We’re not assholes,” Gavin said and it made both Ray and Michael snort. “Okay, we are, but not like that, don’t worry about this.”

Michael threw his arm around Ray’s shoulders. “Yeah buddy, just make sure to call me when you tell them. I wanna see Geoff freak out when he finds out he’s the only normal one.”

“Oh, that will throw him in a fit.” Gavin laughed and they stopped in front of the portal and turned around to look back at the world they were leaving. “Do you miss it?”

“Sometimes.”

“Do you plan on coming back for good some day?”

Ray smiled wistfully. That was a question he was asking himself very often. “Who knows? After all they say there’s no place like home.”

**Author's Note:**

> The Royal Family has control over the Nether mobs and they obey their wishes. In this the Nether is quite bigger than it usually is in the game and there is more than one fortress with a Family living in it. They're more of a species than anything and they use their abilities to keep the peace in the Nether. 
> 
> Michael, while not mentioned here because it's got nothing to do with the plot, is a lot like Mogar in X-Ray and Vav, having been raised by wild mobs in the upper world. His senses are sharper than average and he's an excellent hunter. 
> 
> Gavin, to go with a cliche, is a creeper boy. Raised by creepers, speaks their language and they don't explode around him.
> 
> Jeremy's mentioned "episode" is because he was planned to be a zombie-guy. Just like you can cure zombie-villagers he was bitten and then cured but he still has episodes where his mind shuts off and he slips into a zombie-like state. It leaves him with horrible headaches and general nausea. Usually takes a day or two off after that to recover. 
> 
> Hope you liked it! Comments are love! Don't hesitate to ask if you have questions!


End file.
